Manchester City will host Barcelona and Neymar in the Champions League, two
years after trying to sign the demanding Brazilian from Santos

The Barcelona forward Neymar will return to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City in the Champions League round of 16 on Feb 24 – two years after demanding boots specially designed for “English mud” in order to sign for the Premier League champions.

Neymar, 22, completed a transfer worth up to £71 million from Santos to Barcelona in June 2013 after emerging as one of the most sought-after players in world football in his native Brazil.

However, before his move to the Nou Camp, City had made attempts to convince Neymar to leave Santos for Manchester, with Txiki Begiristain, the director of football, leading efforts to clinch the player’s signature.

Senior figures at City were stunned, however, by Neymar’s claim that he would require special football boots in order to play in the Premier League as a result of his belief that the weather and pitches in England would be too heavy for traditional footwear.

It is understood that the Neymar camp suggested to City that the forward would need new footwear capable of enabling him to keep his footing on the muddy pitches of the Premier League.

Rather than treat Neymar’s demands seriously, however, City withdrew from the race to sign the player, regarding his negotiating position as firm evidence of his determination to move to Spain rather than England.

Neymar played in Manchester last season, facing City as a 74th-minute substitute for Alexis Sánchez, during Barcelona’s 2-0 round-of-16 first-leg victory at the Etihad. On that occasion, the playing surface was pris­tine and unlikely to have ­deposited mud on Neymar’s boots.